Price Guides February 2004: Memory and Soon-To-Be-Obsolete AGP Video Cards
by Kristopher Kubicki on February 10, 2004 4:12 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
ATI is just as guilty as NVIDIA as far as high priced cards go. The 9800XT provides a slightly better overall non-overclocked experience than the GeForceFX 5950s, but is it really worth $400+?
ATI's tried and true Radeon 9700 Pro and 9800 Pro continue to be our high end choices. The 9700 Pro continues to shine even against the best NVIDIA and ATI have to offer. For around $200, we like the 9700 Pro just as much as the GeForceFX 5900.
On a more value oriented rig, it gets a little more complicated. NVIDIA's 5600 line seems a little underpowered and overpriced compared to the older Radeon 9600 Pro/XT. At publication the Sapphire 9600XT packs some decent performance at around $150, without totally sacrificing performance. For the price, it's the best card you can buy.
However, consider one quick side note when buying a video card with those tax returns. Upcoming Intel and SiS chipsets anticipate completely eliminating the AGP bus in favor of PCI-Express. Essentially, if you purchase a video card today and hope to buy a Socket 775 Prescott and Motherboard in a couple months, you will have to pawn that wicked Radeon or GeForceFX. It appears as if VIA's PT890 core will support AGP and PCIe, but whether or not the performance will match SiS and Intel's solutions has yet to be decided. Our final advice? Don't buy a video card now unless you anticipate keeping your rig for a long, long time.
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Khalad - Sunday, February 15, 2004 - link
I was curious, if anyone had any info about what ATI's plans were in regard to a AIW refresh. I understand they are already the leaders in the field, however with the new roadmap, I am curious of any info on the AIW front?Rekonn - Thursday, February 12, 2004 - link
#7 I don't agree with you. The price bumps aren't just $20 for each speed grade. I could be reading it incorrectly, but to me it looks like9600 non pro $102
9600 pro $149 46% increase from 9600 non pro
9600 xt $151
9700 non pro $193 30% increase from 9600 pro
9700 pro $198
9800 non pro - none
9800 pro $215 9% increase from 9700 pro
9800 xt $416 93% increase from 9800 pro
A 50% increase in what you're willing to pay is huge, a 10% increase isn't.
#8 true, if the extras you get from going retail matter to you, then this isn't a fair comparison.
XPgeek - Thursday, February 12, 2004 - link
Hey thanx guys for the info about the memory. I am running an Athlon64 3000+. i have no problems with the ValuRAM at standard clock speeds, but when i try to OC to 220 "FSB" it get wicked unstable. i run timings of 3-7-7-11. i had read in the forums that keeping that last number high allowed for a bit more bandwidth. if i try to set the CAS to 2.5 i get reboots. 2 and i get no boots. i think i'll just stick w this since i dont have a gob of $$ to put down on new mem right now.KristopherKubicki - Thursday, February 12, 2004 - link
Considering AGP doesnt even use half the headroom it has... good point :)mkruer - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
Will someone please explain what the real value of going to PCI-Ex over APG really is when it comes out? I mean is it supposed to have this phenomenal speed, but will it really matter for the cards coming out around the same time?DerekBaker - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
Update:Seems K8T890 is the same:
http://www.anandtech.com/chipsets/showdoc.html?i=1...
Derek
DerekBaker - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
Let's hope it's the same for the K8T890. Though of course just because the chipset supports both, doesn't mean the board makers will offer both.Derek
KristopherKubicki - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
Well oddly enough it looks like PT890 will support both interfaces, but i doubt you can use them at the same time.http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA3NjUwOD...
Kristopher
Tiorapatea - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
Kristopher,Reference to announcement of bridge chip:
http://www.pciexpressdevnet.org/news/archive/msg00...
0.0 Yes, PCI-E southbridge for Socket A looks unlikely. KT880 is VIA's upcoming Socket A chipset - don't you just hate their numbering system?
2.2 I definitely want to see nforce 250 (and the GbE version) on Socket 754. I think people often want to buy features for value and avoid paying the full premium for support of the fastest CPUs.
I can't find the thread any more but there was some speculation/informed comment on Aces that AMD will offer 90nm CPUs on 754.
4.0 I meant to suggest that there would be a choice of motherboards, one design with PCI-E and a separate one with AGP.
KristopherKubicki - Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - link
Trogdor is right. Its not Purple though anymore, i think the purple stuff was formerly Level 2, which is now just called Black.Kristopher